Everybody wants to get shit done. Every day, people are buzzing about like busy little bees trying to get shit done. Our lives revolve around getting shit done. Or trying to. Sadly, almost nobody gets as much shit done as they'd like.
Enter Niall Harbison, an Irish author and entrepreneur who's all about teaching people exactly how to, well, get shit done. His book, appropriately titled Get Sh*t Done, is a best-seller in his home country. And now, he's on a mission to make it to the U.S. best-seller list, too.
To get there, he's on a wild two-week bucket list-inspired drive tour of the U.S. This week, he passed through Florida, where he totalled a car, hit up Miami Beach, and squeezed in the time to talk to Cultist.
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"We all have 'to do' lists that never seem to get done as we lose ourselves in daily life," says Harbison. "I've traveled the world cooking for billionaires as a private chef, built a business with 50 staff and sold it for millions, so I know how to get shit done. There are practical life hacking tips in there that will help people start losing the fear and achieving their goals for once."
And despite the fact that he wrecked his ride in Tampa (don't worry, everyone was ok), he doesn't hold the experience against Florida -- and was still able to get shit done here.
"If anything, [Florida] will now always have a special place in our hearts as we felt we could have died, but somebody was smiling down on us as we walked away without a scratch on us," he says of the crash. "Florida is a very special place and we fell in love with it even if we were the whitest guys on Miami Beach."
On that note, here are Harbison's five tips for getting shit done:
5. Ditch the fear
Fear, schmear.
"Most people don't do the stuff they dream of because they are scared of failure," he says. "It could be starting a business, jumping out of a plane or taking that dream vacation. Once we learn how to lose fear in life and get comfortable with possible failure we can achieve so much more."
4. Take bigger risks
"The people who achieved the best things in life are mostly risk takers. The book talks about increasing the amount of risks you take and doing so in a way that will lead to a much more interesting life," Harbison explains. "This tour is an example of a risk but one where we are having a great time and even though we are set up for failure we are starting to get some traction."
3. Outsource everything
In other words, stick with what you're good at and have other people do the rest.
"Entrepreneurs are really good at outsourcing the stuff they are not good at which is a skill that most people just don't have," he says. "It could be your accounts and taxes or somebody to paint the house, but the more you outsource the more it frees you up to either make more money or to follow your own dreams. By outsourcing you will actually save yourself more time and increase how much you earn."
2. Drop out of college
Unless, y'know, you want to be a doctor or something.
"This sounds controversial but when you look at the long list of people who have dropped out of college and gone on to change the world you will see that education isn't for everybody," Harbison argues. "Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg and the Google founders all thought they could do more by dropping out than by spending five years in college. They were right."
1. Book stuff last minute
Planning ahead is overrated, y'all.
"We use this trick all the time. A hotel is possibly the most perishable good in the world. If they don't sell it that night when empty they'll never be able to sell it again. Rather than booking weeks in advance book a place late on the evening you plan to stay and you could get a discount of as much to 70-80%," Harbison suggests.
You can follow Harbison's American adventure on Facebook and Instagram. He's off to Vegas, next!
Follow Hannah on Twitter @hannahgetshappy.
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